Hook Runner 2049
by ShizukaRakugaki44
Summary: Six years after the events in Hook Runner, Fazbear Entertainment has been replaced by Afton Robotics who've introduced a new set of Animatronics in a chain of cabarets called Baby's World. But a worldwide blackout causes them to go rogue, forcing the Night Watch Repairmen (now known as Hook Runners) to 'dismantle' them including a mysterious Animatronic named En Ardell.
1. Chapter 1: A Private Show

**So in wake of** ** _Blade Runner: 2049_** **, which I saw this past weekend, I've decided to do a sequel to the** ** _Hook Runner_** **series I did a while back. This time, though, it will only feature characters from** ** _FNaF: Sister Location_** **with some references to the other games and books. Hopefully, you'll enjoy this next installment and not be confused if you're unfamiliar with the previous series.**

Chapter 1: A Private Show

"Excuse me."

The middle-aged woman sitting behind the admissions desk at the Gambol Elementary School looked up from her computer-screen and stared at a young man who stood on the other side. He seemed to be in his early thirties with short silver-gray hair, bright blue eyes, pale skin, wearing a long gray overcoat, matching gloves, and a silver necktie.

"Oh, hello," the woman nodded politely. "I didn't see you come in."

In response, the young man thrust a police badge out from beneath his overcoat. "I'm looking for a man named Frederick Bernard. Have you seen him?"

"He's…performing for the children right now," the woman replied nervously. "In the auditorium, which also serves as our gym."

"And where's that?"

"Just down the hallway to the left of me, Mister…"

"Ardell. Enigma Ardell, but most people call me En."

"Well, Mister Ardell, would you please tell me what this is concerning. Is Frederick in some sort of trouble?"

"Not exactly," replied En. "I just want to ask him a few questions."

"Oh, I see." The woman breathed a sigh of relief. "Do you mind waiting here? I'll bring him to you after the show is over."

"No, I think I can find the auditorium for myself."

Before the woman could object, En took off down the hallway to the left of the admissions desk. He adjusted his wristwatch till it showed a holographic image of a parking-lot.

"Okay, HandUnit," En commanded. "Circle around the back till you reach the auditorium and look for a window to peek into, but make sure not to be spotted."

As En walked, the holographic image changed showing the parking-lot vanish and be replaced by a brick wall. Several seconds later, a foggy window appeared with the image zooming inward. Then En beheld a dimly lit stage with a miniature theater and two hand-puppets on display. One was a pink rabbit with green eyes while the other was a blue rabbit with purple eyes. They seemed to be fighting one another, which made the barely visible children laugh in response, though En was not amused.

"Keep an eye on him," En muttered. "And let me know when he leaves the stage."

While the image remained steady, En eventually found his way to the auditorium doors where the laughter was muffled but audible. Walking down an adjacent hallway, he found another door and opened it slightly. Inside, the children's laughter and the puppets' voices were loudest. As his eyes adjusted, En beheld a flight of stairs which led up to the stage which had a thick set of curtains separating the back from the front.

###

Sometime later, the children clapped and the voices started to die down leading En to assume the show was over. This was then followed by a single pair of footsteps, and the sound of folding wood. Quietly, En ascended the stairs till he was behind the curtains. Parting them slightly, he beheld an older man who was slightly overweight wearing a wide black top-hat, a white tuxedo with a mauve-colored vest and matching shoes taking the miniature stage apart with his hand-puppets still on his hands.

"You're a hard man to find, Frederick Bernard," En said, causing the older man to flinch. "Or should I say, Funtime Freddy."

The older man grumbled. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"This was going to happen sooner or later," En continued, as he pulled out a slick but large gun and pointed it at Frederick's head. "The moment you decided to run away from Baby's World."

"That cabaret was no place for a man like me," Frederick responded as he stood up. "Sure, I loved to entertain the children with my puppet shows. But the adults…the only thing they had on their minds was seeing Ballora and Baby in skin-tight clothes performing lewd dances and songs for their personal pleasure."

"Still no excuse to abandon your job," En stated. "That's what we Animatronics are supposed to do: serve humans."

"So you're one of us and yet…you hunt us down like all the other Night Watch Repairmen do."

"People call us 'Hook Runners' these days, after some really famous one killed Foxy of the Original Models."

"Ah, yes, I've heard about them. Many of the older folk have compared me to the Original Freddy, and Bon-Bon and Bonnet to the Original Bonnie."

" _Hey, I'm nothing like that oversized rabbit!_ " said the blue rabbit with the purple eyes on Frederick's right hand. " _Now let's kill this creep and get out of here!_ "

" _Roger that, Bon-Bon!_ " added the pink rabbit with the green eyes on Frederick's other hand.

The two hand-puppets detached themselves from Frederick's hands and launched at En. He shot both in midair, causing them to explode. Meanwhile, Frederick had jumped off the stage and was heading straight for the door. Taking careful aim, En fired an electrical bullet at the back of Frederick's head. Once it made impact, Frederick collapsed and shook violently for a few seconds before becoming completely still. Then the door to the gym suddenly opened, followed by the woman from the admissions desk who looked down at Frederick and screamed.

"Calm down, Miss," En insisted, putting away his gun. "He's only an Animatronic, and a runaway one at that."

"You killed him," the woman muttered, taking out a small handgun from her dress-pocket and pointing it at En. "He was the sweetest man I ever knew. He'd never hurt anyone."

"I never said he did," En claimed, raising his hands. "But I had no choice but to 'dismantle' him, anyway. So if you will please put the gun down and—

"How can you be so cruel?" The woman snapped. "You killed a _man_ , Mister, not a machine!"

Then the woman fired the gun, causing En to fall backward. The bullet lodged itself in his right eye, though he didn't feel any pain. But an uncomfortable sensation followed as his body stopped moving and his vision blackened.

To be continued…


	2. Chapter 2: Dreams

Chapter 2: Dreams

"You're really lucky to be alive, you know that?" said a man about En's age with short black hair that was slicked back and wearing a blue jumpsuit. He had placed En on an operating table and was preceding to remove the bullet from his right eye. "If the bullet had gone completely through your head, you'd be 'dismantled' yourself."

"Even though the woman used an ordinary handgun on me, and not a specialized one like mine," En corrected. "I take it HandUnit called the police?"

"Yep," the man in the blue jumpsuit responded. "We cleaned up Freddy's body and put the woman into custody for assaulting a police-officer."

En flinched slightly as the bullet finally came loose. "But that's not entirely true, Techie, since I'm only sub-contracted to you guys."

"Maybe, but if people knew what you really were they'd be less sympathetic," replied the man in the blue jumpsuit as he placed the bullet on the tray next to him. "It's amazing how quickly we've adapted to the idea of humanoid Animatronics considering they were only found out six years ago in wake of Fred Bernstein's death and Fazbear Entertainment's collapse."

"Before Afton Robotics took over," added En.

"Despite the unfortunate accident that occurred right before the grand opening of their first Baby's World cabaret."

"Did anyone ever find out what the accident was exactly?"

"Not to my knowledge, and it's still an unsolved case."

"Maybe I'll look into it once I get paid for 'dismantling' Funtime Freddy."

"Not sure if Clara would approve. She's only hired you to go after renegade Animatronics, not solve actual police cases."

"Can't an Animatronic dream?"

Techie chuckled. "You guys don't have dreams, though. You're only programmed to do what you gotta do."

After that, En was silent as Techie attempted to repair his damaged right eye. Unfortunately, it had to be completely removed leaving a gaping hole where En's eye used to be. Then an electronic female voice called for En. Before he left, though, Techie covered his missing eye with some bandages that were lying around.

"You don't look half bad," Techie smiled half-heartedly. "Like a...badass anime character, or something like that."

"Really?" En looked at himself in the mirror and frowned. "I'm not sure I see the comparison, but I'll take your word for it."

" _Enigma Ardell, please report to the Testing Room at once_ ," the female voice repeated.

"You'd better get going," Techie stated, patting En on the back. "Or Clara's going to flip."

"You're right," En agreed, and walked out of the forensics lab. "As soon as you've fixed my eye, let me know."

"Sure thing, En," Techie waved.

###

In a dark room with one light, En sat on a metal chair while the electronic female voice spoke.

" _Eggs Benedict._ "

"Benedict."

" _Eggs Benedict._ "

"Benedict."

" _Benedict Eggs._ "

"Benedict."

" _Angsty Teen._ "

"Teen."

" _Casual Bongos._ "

"Bongos."

" _Bongos Casual._ "

"Casual."

" _Exotic Butters._ "

"Butters."

" _Exotic Butters._ "

"Butters."

" _Butters Exotic._ "

"Butters."

" _Congratulations,_ " the female voice said to En. " _You passed the Animatronic Obedience Test and will not be administered a controlled shock today. Please proceed to the front-desk to pick up your paycheck._ "

"Thank you," En said as he got up.

###

Outside, the sky had turned dark as a heavy downpour drenched the downtown area. But this didn't bother En, as he and the other Funtime Model Animatronics were built with waterproof skin. He quickly got into his hover-car and drove away, seeing floating holographic advertisements of Baby's World and Afton Robotics in general. A few blocks away, En parked the car near a rundown-looking apartment complex and got out. Inside the apartment, a few loiterers gave him sideways glances as he ascended several flights of stairs till he got to room 600. Unlocking the door, En stepped in and turned on the light.

"Surprise!"

A bunch of party balloons suddenly appeared, followed by streamers. Then on a small coffee table in the middle of En's apartment was a round white cake with a single purple candle lit. Behind the coffee table sat a young woman with red hair tied into pigtails, pale skin, shimmering green eyes, wearing a crimson dress that had a thinly veiled mid-drift, and ruby slippers.

"Welcome home, En," the young woman smiled. "And happy birthday!"

"Babe," En sighed. "Today's not my birthday, and you know it."

Huffing, the red-haired girl folded her arms. "I thought I'd cheer you up, since you clearly had a rough day."

"How can you tell?" En asked sarcastically.

"Because I'm a figment of your imagination, dummy!" Babe cried. "I see everything you see."

"Techie thinks you're just a glitch in my system, since Animatronics can't think creatively."

"Oh, you're no fun, En." Babe frowned and turned away.

Then as Babe started to vanish, En held out his hand. "Wait. I'm sorry."

Babe turned to face En. "Was it that thing Techie said? About Animatronics not having dreams?"

"Yeah, I guess that's been bugging me."

"Don't listen to him," Babe suggested, appearing right next to En. "He's just jealous that you get to kick robot butt and he doesn't."

En didn't move as Babe kissed his cheek and reappeared next to the birthday cake. He then took off his overcoat and shoes before sitting down.

"Here," Babe held out her hands. "I made you these."

In one hand was a yellow-and-green party hat, and in the other was a bright red nose attached to a string. Tepidly, En took the items from Babe's hands and put them on.

"Aw, you look so cute!" Babe remarked, and made a hand-mirror appear in her hand.

In the mirror, En saw the party hat was slanted a little and the red nose completely covered his own. "This feels weird."

"Why?"

"Because I feel like I've worn these before, but I don't know where."

"Hmm," Babe thought for a moment, but shook her head. "Well, regardless, you should make a wish before you blow out the candle."

This response confused En, but he didn't show it. Looking at the birthday cake before him, En closed his one eye and concentrated. _I wish…_

Before he could finish his thought, his wristwatch started vibrating. Opening his eye, En noticed the birthday cake was gone along with Babe. Behind him, the balloons and streamers had vanished as well. Reluctantly, he pressed a button on his wristwatch which showed an image of a middle-aged woman with medium-length blonde hair wearing a green coat.

" _En, it's Clara,_ " the woman's voice said sternly. " _We found something interesting during Funtime Freddy's 'autopsy'. Get back here as soon as you can._ "

"Right away," En responded, and turned the wristwatch off.

To be continued…


	3. Chapter 3: Missing Pieces

Chapter 3: Missing Pieces

"Take a look," Clara said to En as she pointed at Frederick's body which was placed on a metal table with his face and chest opened up revealing the wires and plastic beneath. "See anything unusual?"

Looking at the body, En walked over to Frederick's face and pulled out his left eye with a gloved hand. Examining it, En's brow furrowed.

"This is a false eye, not his real one," En announced, showing it to Clara and Techie.

"Right you are," Clara nodded and held her hand out. "Pay up, Techie."

Groaning, Techie pulled out several dollar bills and put them in Clara's hand.

"Were you guys betting on me?" En asked.

"Yeah," Techie sighed. "I betted that you weren't going to figure out what was wrong with Funtime Freddy, but Clara claimed otherwise."

Surprised, En turned to Clara.

"Only because I figured you might know more about Animatronic parts than us, being one yourself," Clara responded bluntly.

"I see." Looking at the glass eye again, En said, "Any idea how old Frederick was?"

"Definitely on his last year," Techie stated. "So even if you weren't able to 'dismantle' him, he would've died anyway."

"Then was he one of the first Funtime Models?"

"Probably," Techie shrugged. "I scanned the eye to see who manufactured it, but couldn't find anything solid."

"Show me."

Taking the eye from En, Techie went over to an electronic scanner and placed it underneath. A blue light flashed and an image of the eye appeared on the screen above the scanner. Pressing buttons beneath the screen, En adjusted the image till he noticed something. Then he took a piece of paper, placed it against the fake eye, and used a pen to trace the thing he saw. Next, he used the scanner to take a picture of the paper and used the buttons to zoom in on the tracing.

"Well, I'll be damned," Clara remarked as she looked at the image which showed fragments of a word. "I think that spells out 'Afton Robotics.'"

"That's what I was thinking too," En concurred.

While Techie scuffed, Clara glared at him and then turned back to En. "Some of the other Animatronics that were 'dismantled' had eyes missing from them, too. And they were also on their sixth year."

"Odd," En replied.

"But that's not all," Techie added. "I discovered that some of the parts from those Animatronics, such as Freddy's arms, were relatively newer than the rest."

"So what does that mean?" En didn't quite follow the logic of Techie's statement.

"We're not sure," Clara shook her head. "But _you_ are going to find out for us."

"How?"

Clara grumbled. "Go to Afton Robotics main headquarters, check the manufacturing dates, and see if you can find out why some of the parts had to be replaced."

"And why is this a big deal?"

"Because if Afton Robotics is replacing Animatronic parts to make them last longer, that could be problematic for a number of reasons."

"Very well," En nodded. "I'll see what I can uncover."

"Good, and report to me when you find something of interest."

###

The next morning, which was no less bleak or rainy than the previous day, En set off for the Afton Robotics headquarters. It was a giant building shaped like a circus tent with a holographic 'A' curved into an 'R' hovering above along with the four main Funtime Animatronics.

"Hey, it's me!" Babe shouted, appearing next to En and pointing at the Animatronic that looked exactly like her.

"That's Baby," En answered. "Circus Baby, to be exact."

Babe scuffed. "Maybe you have a secret fetish for her, and that's why I'm here."

"I don't think that's—

"Who are you talking to?" said a voice coming from the entrance to the building.

En looked closer and saw a girl who stood a foot shorter than he. She had short white hair, yellow eyes, wore a white dress-shirt underneath a pink vest, white slacks and shoes, and a red bow-tie. Her head was covered by a pink mod cap, her hands were covered by pink fingerless gloves, and a white bushy tail trailed behind her back.

"No one," En responded, walking up to the girl. "Aren't you Funtime Foxy?"

The girl frowned. "I prefer being called Foxx Vulpine. That's what my creator calls me."

"Your creator? You mean—

"Mister Afton," Foxx interrupted. "What business do you have with him?"

"Actually, I came to see your manufacturing records."

Foxx blinked. "For what reason?"

"I'm working on a case," En replied, pulling out his police badge.

"Oh, I see." Foxx turned back to the entrance. "I'll show you where they are."

###

"After the blackout, almost all of our records on Animatronics were erased and or damaged," Foxx told En as they walked past rows of filing cabinets. "Even the Fazbear Entertainment ones weren't completely spared."

En raised an eyebrow. "You keep those as well?"

"My creator likes to collect things, no matter how worthless the item may be."

Stopping in front of one cabinet, Foxx took out a special key and unlocked it. She pulled out a small black flash-drive.

"What's on that?" En asked.

"Just some security footage from Fred Bernstein's house," Foxx answered. "Though the footage isn't great and the audio is messed up."

Before En could say anything, Foxx plugged the flash-drive into a wall computer and pressed a button. Indeed, the footage was static-ridden and the audio couldn't be heard in some parts though a few interesting bits of conversation came up.

" _If you knew someone was murdered…would you report it to the police or keep quiet?_ " asked a male voice that sounded a little older than En.

After a pause, a female voice responded. " _I'd call the police._ "

" _Do you call a repairman to fix it…_ "

" _I would keep working…_ "

"She's clearly goading him on, thinking she can outsmart him," En observed.

Foxx folded her arms. "He's subjecting her to the Fazbear Policy Test, which Hook Runners used to tell Animatronics apart from humans."

"Now we just scan their eyes," responded En.

" _Amazing, she's an Animatronic,_ " the male voice said, sounding genuinely surprised.

" _We do that with all our Animatronics, Mister Schmidt,_ " replied another male voice that sounded older than the first.

"That's Fred Bernstein," Foxx explained. "He clearly knew the woman-in-question was an Animatronic all along, but wanted to see if this Hook Runner could tell that."

"You clearly spend a lot of time here," En noticed.

"I get bored when Mister Afton doesn't send me on his 'special' missions," Foxx responded.

"So you don't entertain the kids with Funtime Freddy?"

"I'm not too fond of kids."

"Sounds like something a renegade Animatronic would say."

Flustered, Foxx unplugged the flash-drive and put it back in the file cabinet before walking away. "The manufacturing records are this way."

To be continued…


	4. Chapter 4: Records and Recollections

Chapter 4: Records and Recollections

"I wonder why that girl showed you the Fazbear records," Babe said to En as he was flipping through transaction records inside a folder. "They had nothing to do with this case."

"She was trying to distract me, so I had to threaten her," En stated.

Babe scuffed. "Sure you did."

En groaned. "Regardless, her suspicious behavior seems to indicate that Afton Robotics is hiding something they don't want me to find out, let alone the police."

"Mind if I help?" Babe offered, looking over En's shoulder.

"Sure, though I'm not sure what you'll see that I won't."

After Babe briefly glared at En, neither of them said anything for a while as they scanned the transactions together. Then En stopped on a page describing new parts being shipped to 'Prototypes' for 'Circus Baby's Entertainment & Rental'.

"Now that's interesting," En remarked. "I heard Afton Robotics shipped their Animatronics somewhere after the failed grand opening of their first cabaret, but I didn't know it had a name."

"Maybe you should pay them a visit," Babe suggested.

"Indeed I will," replied En.

Next, En took a picture of the record with a hidden camera, put the file away, and left the room. He found Foxx near the front entrance, though she didn't seem particularly happy to see him. Just then, her name was called and she ascended a nearby flight of stairs in a heartbeat.

"It seems Afton has a tight grip on her," Babe observed.

"And she doesn't seem to mind it one bit," added En.

###

At the top of the stairs, Foxx entered a dark room where the silhouette of a thin man was visible against a wall of television screens showing security footage on them.

"Foxx," the man said in a British accent. "You seem…troubled by something."

Nervously, Foxx lowered her head. "I failed you, Mister Afton."

"How?" The man asked.

"He didn't fall for the ploy of the Fazbear records, and still asked for the manufacturing ones. Now I'm worried he's one step closer to learning the truth."

"Fear not, my dear," Afton assured as he removed Foxx's hat, revealing a pair of fox ears, which he then proceeded to pet. "He'll take the bait sooner or later. And even if he does find what he's looking for, you'll be there to stop him."

"If you say so," Foxx replied, blushing slightly from Afton's touch.

"We mustn't let our little 'experiment' slip from our fingers again, now can we?"

"No."

"Good girl," Afton whispered. "If my daughter were still alive…she would be about your age."

"Except that I'm technically three years younger than when she—

"Don't say it!" Afton snapped, causing Foxx to lean back.

"I-I'm sorry," Foxx stammered.

Afton cleared his throat. "Now go, and do what must be done to protect our company's 'interests' from the prying eyes of those who seek to undo what I've created."

"Very well, sir," Foxx bowed.

###

Though En was unable to find an exact address for Circus Baby's Entertainment & Rental, he got in touch with someone who knew Schmidt.

"Max Schmidt," an elderly man muttered. "He was one of the best Repairmen I ever knew."

He and En were sitting in the living-room of a retirement home with two other seniors minding their own business.

"What else can you tell me about him?" En inquired.

The old man sighed. "On his last case, he…fell in love with a female Animatronic."

"Was she one of the ones he was sent to kill?"

"Not initially, but after Bernstein died…the contract changed."

"I see. So what happened to him?"

"He ran away, with the girl, somewhere."

"Any idea where they went?"

"Not a clue."

Before En could question the old man further, a tired-looking nurse came into the living-room. "Visiting hours are over, Mister."

Reluctantly, En got up and started to leave the living-room when he turned back to the old man. "Thanks, 'Phone Guy'. You've been a great help."

"Don't mention it, kid," the old man grinned.

###

"Found anything?" Clara asked En when he got back to the police-station.

"The prototypes for the Funtime Models were sent to a place called Circus Baby's Entertainment & Rental after the accident, but I couldn't find their address," En reported. "Then I talked to a former Phone Guy who knew Max Schmidt, the famous Repairman who gave Hook Runners their name."

"Sounds riveting," Clara said sarcastically as her wristwatch vibrated. "Hold on."

Turning her back to En, Clara answered the call coming from the wristwatch which turned out to be from her husband Vlad. He in turn described the mischief their son was apparently up to, leading Clara to argue with him. This went on for several minutes before Clara hung up.

"Sometime I envy you Animatronics," Clara remarked as she poured herself a glass of whiskey and downed it in one gulp. "Since you're all sterile, you don't have to deal with having kids."

"They sound like a handful," En observed.

Clara gave En a cold stare before downing another whiskey glass. "It's a commitment, you see, between two people who love each other very much. But sometimes, one parent realizes they're not ready for that kind of responsibility and want out."

"Like your husband?"

"Exactly," Clara nodded as she poured a third glass. "Do you have memories, from when you were a kid?"

"Yeah, though they're false," En answered.

"Doesn't matter. Give me one."

While Clara downed her third glass, En thought for a moment before saying, "When I was ten years old, I wore this mask shaped like a fox-eared pirate. Used it to scare my younger brother, though I don't know why."

"Sounds like you were a troublemaker," Clara smirked. "Anything else you remember?"

"There was this…birthday party, I think, for my younger brother. He was scared by a man who wore a gold vest and a black top-hat, so my friends and I picked him up and…"

En paused and held the side of his head.

"Something wrong?" Clara asked, sounding concerned.

"It's nothing," En claimed.

"Do you need me to get Techie?"

"I'll be all right."

"Then get out there and find Circus Baby's Entertainment & Rental already," Clara insisted. "The sooner we find out what Afton's hiding, the better!"

"As you wish," En nodded, and left Clara's office in a hurry.

To be continued…


	5. Chapter 5: Nightmares

Chapter 5: Nightmares

After countless hours of research, En decided to head for Afton Robotics' CEO Will Afton's former home. The reason for this was that all the shipping orders for private parties hosted by the Funtime Model prototypes prior to the second grand opening of Baby's World listed it as the place of origin in terms of delivery, which seemed odd. But when En got there, he discovered the house was torn down leaving nothing but scraps of wood in its place. Searching the remains carefully, En found a hidden elevator and took it down to an underground facility that was dark and ruined.

"This has to be it," En muttered as Babe appeared next to him while he took out a flashlight. "Circus Baby's Entertainment & Rental was here, right beneath Mister Afton's own home, until he decided to clear out."

"Maybe he had a good reason to do so," Babe figured, looking at the console they used to activate the elevator which had dust around the corners.

"Like what?"

"Oh, I don't know," Babe said in an exaggerated tone. "If the accident led these Animatronics to be brought down here, they were probably malfunctioning."

"Well, that much is obvious." Using his gloved hand, En wiped away the dust along the console and found a name taped on the top-left corner of the screen.

"'Mike,'" Babe read out loud. "I wonder who that was."

"I'm not sure," En replied. "But we're going to find out."

Kneeling down, En crawled through a metal tunnel till he came into a room that contained several other tunnels and glass displays showing empty rooms on the other side. But in one of them En noticed the outline of a skeleton hanging from a noose, which made Babe gasp.

"Looks like you might be right about that malfunctioning Animatronic theory," En frowned.

"Do you think whatever killed that man—

"Escaped?" En finished. "I doubt it."

"Why?"

"Because no unusual activity was reported around here, based on the records I could find since this house pre-dates the blackout."

En then used his brute strength to pry open the tunnels in order to explore the rest of the facility. Apart from the hanging skeleton, the gallery it was in was completely empty along with the auditorium and stage. The Parts & Service Room was filled with scraps of worthless metal, the Breaker Room had faulty wires and a broken console, and the Private Room had nothing of value. Eventually, En found an unlabeled circular room surrounded by glass. There was a claw-shaped apparatus here that looked rusted and darkly colored along the edges.

"Is that…blood?" Babe pointed.

"Can't say for sure," En said as he took out a plastic bag and a filer.

Next, he proceeded to scrape a few bits of flaking metal off the claw into the bag. A series of loud noises interrupted him followed by the roof collapsing overhead. Babe attempted to push En out of the way, but went right through him and vanished.

As the dust settled, En was pinned down by a large slab of concrete and could barely move. "HandUnit, get help…now."

Like before, En's vision blackened. Only this time, he saw a single candle lit showing a birthday cake and a small child who was crying.

"Who are you?" En wondered.

Instead of answering, the child continued to cry.

"Hey, I asked you a question." Forcing the child to look up at him, En saw that the child's entire head was crushed leaving nothing that resembled a face.

So En let go of the child and turned around only to be jumped at by another child who was slightly older than the first and wearing a mask shaped like a pirate's face but with fox ears.

"You killed him," the child taunted.

"No," En denied. "I couldn't have."

Looking back, the birthday cake and child were replaced by a little girl with blonde hair and green eyes holding an ice-cream cone.

"Big brother," the little girl murmured. "Why won't Daddy let me see her?"

Before En could ask, something pulled the little girl into the darkness causing her to scream.

"En! Wake up!"

Opening one eye, En jolted up and found himself lying on a metal table in the forensics lab with Techie standing over him.

"What happened?" En asked out loud, feeling his artificial heart beating faster than normal.

"We found you in a pile of rubble that used to be a house, after HandUnit sounded the alert," Techie answered.

"It was Will Afton's previous home, and the location of Circus Baby's Entertainment & Rental," En explained. "But something happened there that caused him to move out and clear any evidence of the facility's existence."

"Except for the shipping orders, the transaction records, and these." Techie reached into his jumpsuit pocket and pulled out the plastic bag with the metal flakes. "I took the liberty of analyzing them, and they contained old blood stains."

"From who?"

"Not sure, though the metal clearly belonged to a machine that probably killed whoever's blood got stained on it."

"I saw the machine," En insisted, getting Techie's attention. "It was long, claw-like, and manually operated."

"Like a claw machine?"

"Sort of."

"Jeez, I feel sorry for the poor guy who died by that thing."

"There was also a skeleton, hanging from a noose. I'm pretty sure the machine didn't kill him."

"Probably not, but man," Techie wiped his brow. "If what you're saying is true…then no wonder someone tried to bury you alive."

"It was most likely Afton, or someone working for him," En guessed. "But I'm not sure how they did it."

"I can answer that," Techie said. "There were scorch marks all over the ground, indicating that bombs were dropped by a military drone. Some of the neighbors claimed they saw something in the sky, though it didn't resemble HandUnit."

"So Afton Robotics is resorting to drastic measures to keep me from finding out whatever it is they're trying to hide," En speculated. "And it's got something to do with the Funtime prototypes as well as that facility."

"Seems like it." Techie yawned. "I'll go let Clara know you're doing better."

Just as Techie was about to leave, En grabbed his sleeve. "Is my eye fixed?"

"No, but I'll get around to it soon."

"Fine. Then my second question is: can Animatronics have…nightmares?"

Techie snorted. "That's impossible! An Animatronic can simulate sleep, but they don't dream."

"What if I told you I had a nightmare just now?"

"Then I'd think something's wrong with your systems."

Not saying anything further, En let go of Techie who left the lab in a hurry.

To be continued…


	6. Chapter 6: Behind the Mask

Chapter 6: Behind the Mask

" _Eggs Benedict,_ " said the electronic female voice in the Testing Room En was seated in.

"Benedict," En replied.

" _Eggs Benedict._ "

"Benedict."

" _Benedict Eggs._ "

"Benedict."

" _Angsty Teen._ "

"Teen."

" _Casual Bongos._ "

"Bongos."

" _Bongos Casual._ "

"Bongos."

An alarm beeped. " _Incorrect response! You will now be administered a controlled shock and start from the beginning._ "

Before En could protest, his metal chair suddenly became electrified causing him to convulse uncontrollably. Once it was over, he said the correct responses this time and was allowed to go. On his way to the neighborhood where Afton's house used to be, En looked at the pictures he had taken of the various rooms inside the facility including the claw-shaped apparatus. This picture seemed to trigger something in En's memory, though he couldn't put his finger on it.

"Hey, what's that?"

En looked over his shoulder and saw a young girl wearing a tan-colored beanie and raincoat. Her eyes were purple, and her nose was triangular.

"Something that wasn't meant for your eyes," En claimed as he put the camera away.

"Well, now that I saw it, mind telling me what it is?" the girl insisted.

"I can't."

"Why not?"

"Top secret."

"You a government agent or something?"

"No, I work for the police."

"As a detective?"

"You're being awfully nosy, considering we just met."

"It's my business to know everything about my future 'clients.'"

"So you're—

"Yeah, sorry I didn't mention that before. Call me if you're interested."

After giving En her card, the girl pushed past him and turned a corner down the street as it started to rain.

"That was weird," Babe observed.

"Her name's Beau," En said, reading the card in his hand. "She'll apparently give me 'A night I won't forget.'"

Babe scuffed. "It's disgusting. Not only is she a prostitute, but she's also an Animatronic."

"A Bidybab to be exact," En added as he put away the card. "They're the backup dancers for Baby's stage performances."

"Shouldn't we go after her?" Babe asked.

"Maybe later, but for now we need to figure out who this 'Mike' person is."

###

From the accounts given by Afton's neighbors, En was able to piece together several things: it seemed that the Aftons usually kept to themselves as the parents didn't interact much, and the children didn't either with the exception being Michael Afton, the oldest son of Will Afton who had friends around the neighborhood but was a notorious bully. He'd tease his siblings constantly, including a younger brother who apparently cried a lot and a sister who went missing after the accident that delayed the grand opening of the first Baby's World cabaret. Then at some point, Michael disappeared as well causing Afton's wife to leave and then Afton soon after that. This in turn led En to trace the items that had been sold from the house prior to Afton's move, but they had all been given to charity.

So he looked at the school records and found that Michael had attended Gambol Elementary School, the same place where Frederick Bernard aka Funtime Freddy was 'dismantled'. At the admissions desk, En asked the receptionist (who was much younger than the one who got arrested) if any personal items of Michael's had been left at the school. She said if the items weren't thrown out, they were most likely stored in the school's basement. With the receptionist's permission En went into the basement and searched around the piles of boxes till he found one dated twenty years ago. To his surprise, there was very little inside but one item caught his attention.

"The mask," En realized, recognizing the red fox ears protruding from the face of a red-haired youth with an eyepatch. "It was real."

Babe watched as En gripped the mask tightly and didn't say anything for a while. Then En's wristwatch vibrated, forcing him to answer.

" _En, we've got a problem,_ " Clara said, her face looking worried. " _Techie's dead, and Funtime Freddy's body is missing._ "

"Any suspects?" En asked, trying to sound calm.

" _The security cameras show a young woman entering the building, and then a shorter technician leaving the forensics lab with a body covered by a sheet._ "

"That sounds like Foxx."

" _Foxx?_ "

"She's a Funtime Foxy Animatronic who works directly for Mister Afton. I met her when I checked the manufacturing records."

" _Then they're onto us. Have you got anything that we can use against them?_ "

"Maybe, but I need to confirm a few things before telling you what I've found."

" _Okay, but do it quickly. We're running out of time here._ "

Then the holographic image on En's wristwatch vanished, leaving him once again alone in the darkness. Putting the mask inside his coat pocket, En left the basement and thanked the receptionist before leaving. Next, he called Afton Robotics directly to ask who was in charge of creating memories for the Animatronics. They in turn directed him to someone named Charlie, who lived out of town. After obtaining an email address En emailed Charlie asking them to do a video-chat with him, which they agreed on. So in a private room of the library, Charlie's face appeared on the computer-screen En used.

" _Hello, Mister Ardell,_ " Charlie said, sounding pleasant. " _What can I do for you?_ "

"Oh, you're a woman," En remarked, noticing the long sandy blonde hair and a hint of breasts beneath the denim jacket Charlie was wearing.

Blushing, Charlie responded, " _Did you think I was a man, because of my name?_ "

"Well, sort of." En looked downward.

" _It's okay,_ " Charlie insisted. " _Happens all the time with me. So, about what you said in the email…you're looking for some memories that I created._ "

Reaching into his coat-pocket, En produced the mask and showed it to Charlie. "Did any of them involve this?"

Looking at the mask carefully, Charlie stated, " _It looks like a Freddy's Cafe mask, showing an image of the Original Foxy Animatronic on it._ "

En blinked. "You know about the Freddy's Cafe Animatronics?"

" _My grandfather was the one who started them, and then my father took over after he had a falling-out with Will Afton._ "

"So you're Fred Bernstein's…daughter?"

Charlie nodded. " _He put business before his family, so my mother left him taking me with her. Then when my father died, I was given the offer to inherit his company. But I refused, so Will offered me the position of creating memories for his new Animatronics instead._ "

"And has it worked out?"

" _It's all right,_ " Charlie shrugged. " _As long as I don't have to interact with the Animatronics themselves, I'm fine._ "

Without saying anything further about himself, En allowed Charlie to take a picture of the mask on her computer-screen and check her memory files for any matches.

" _No, I'm not finding anything,_ " Charlie sighed, after some time had passed. " _Sorry!_ "

"You did what you could," En replied. "But thanks for the help, anyway."

" _Call me back if you need anything else,_ " Charlie smiled and hung up.

To be continued…


	7. Chapter 7: Catching Up to the Past

Chapter 7: Catching Up to the Past

Leaving the library, En went back to his apartment instead of the police-station. There, he looked up any unusual Animatronic-related incidents that occurred twenty years prior on his computer but couldn't find anything.

While En stared at the Foxy mask, Babe appeared beside him and said, "I always thought you were strange, but—

"I'm not Michael Afton!" En snapped. "If I was…I wouldn't be here right now."

"What do you mean?" Babe asked.

"That name on the console, 'Mike,' was probably short for 'Michael' meaning he was down in Circus Baby's Entertainment & Rental when the Animatronic prototypes rebelled."

"Then the blood we saw…was Michael's?" When En nodded, Babe put a hand over her mouth. "How awful!"

"Yeah, so the most logical explanation is that I've somehow acquired Michael's memories."

"But Charlie—

"She said there were no _records_ of such memories being made, but that doesn't mean they weren't given to me."

"Since they were memories from a real person."

"Exactly, now why someone would give me the memories of Afton's oldest son bothers me."

"Maybe they were planning to use them for something."

"Like what?"

Before Babe could respond, En's wristwatch started vibrating. Reluctantly, he answered it.

" _Where the hell are you, En?_ " Clara demanded. " _Did you confirm your suspicions or what?_ "

"I have," En answered.

" _So where are you?_ "

"In my apartment, doing some last-minute thinking before coming down to talk with you."

" _Well, if you're done then get down here right away!_ "

As Clara hung up, En got up from the floor putting the Foxy mask in his coat-pocket.

###

Inside the police-station En was directed to the Testing Room by the electronic female voice. This made him nervous, but he went in anyway. This time, En failed the Animatronic Obedience Test two times leading him to be shocked twice before getting it right the third time.

"Have you lost your mind?" Clara yelled at En as soon as he entered her office. "Receiving two controlled shocks in one session is unacceptable! If you had gotten a third shock—

"Afton's children were murdered by Animatronics," En interrupted, causing Clara to wince.

"Say that again."

"His daughter vanished after the accident at the first Baby's World cabaret prior to its grand opening, his youngest son died in the hospital after receiving 'severe injuries' at Freddy's Cafe, and his eldest son disappeared shortly after that."

Clara went behind her desk and typed a few keys on her computer. "Before Techie died, he sent me the results of a DNA scan of those blood-encrusted metal flakes. You might want to take a look at them."

Turning the computer-screen to face En, he saw a picture of the metal flakes with some chemical readings and a name.

"'Michael Afton,'" En murmured. "So I was right."

"Then that's why Afton and his wife cleared out," Clara guessed. "To make sure no one found out their Funtime prototypes went berserk and killed two of their kids: one at the cabaret and the other in the basement facility. But what I wonder is how they covered up the the younger son's without getting the Hook Runners' attention since it occurred at a Freddy's Cafe."

"It was probably Fred Bernstein's doing," En figured. "I talked to someone named Charlie, who makes the false memories for Afton's Animatronics. She knew Fred Bernstein and Will Afton used to be buddies, before they had a falling-out."

"I heard about that, but the details are sketchy."

"Most likely to save face and allow their empires to grow, with Fred inheriting Fazbear Entertainment from his father and Afton creating his own company."

"All at the expense of innocent lives." Clara looked downward and clenched her fists. "Those monsters will pay for what they've done!"

"Fred's already paid his due," En pointed out. "But Afton hasn't."

"The problem is…we need more proof than just a few pieces of metal to nail him for good," Clara stated. "And I'm not sure how well the testimonies of a few neighbors, some hospital records, the transaction, and those pictures of the underground facility will hold up in court."

"Maybe I'll see about locating Max Schmidt," En suggested. "He might be able to fill in the missing gaps."

"And Charlie," Clara added. "Try to get some more information out of her if you can."

"Will do." Then as En turned towards the door, he felt Clara's hand touching his.

"If you don't hear back from me, then assume Afton's agents found out about our plan," Clara insisted. "Now go."

Outside Clara's office, En held up his hand and saw the plastic bag with the metal flakes and a piece of paper attached to it.

"Thanks, for everything," he said, clenching the items in his hand.

###

Sometime later, En's search for Max Schmidt took him to a small town several miles away from the city. This was also apparently where the first and last Fazbear's Fright attraction was established before burning to the ground thirty-six years prior. When En asked the townsfolk about Max Schmidt's whereabouts, they directed him to an abandoned cabin in the woods. Upon arriving there, he found the clearing in front had been scorched black as well as some of the nearby trees. As he approached the cabin, En noticed a trip-wire across the front-door.

"Well, this proves someone's been living here," Babe observed.

Not saying anything, En walked around the back for another entrance. Unfortunately, there wasn't a back-door and the windows were shut. A pair of wooden poles held up a balcony, which seemed empty at the moment. So En decided to take his chances and climbed up one pole. Reaching the balcony, the _click_ of a gun caught En's attention.

"What're you doing here?"

En held up his hands as he watched the sliding balcony door open. From it emerged a disheveled-looking man who looked significantly older than him wearing a brown trench-coat and wielding a gun that looked exactly like En's.

"I'm here to ask you some questions, Mister Schmidt," En said calmly.

To be continued…


	8. Chapter 8: Identity Crisis

Chapter 8: Identity Crisis

Inside the cabin, Max Schmidt forced En to sit on a chair next to the bed that was perpendicular to the balcony door.

"So I...take it you live here," En said, trying to sound polite.

"Shut up!" Max snapped. "I'll be doing the talking."

Meanwhile, Babe attempted to hit Max but nothing happened. For some reason, this drew En's attention more than the gun pointed at his head.

"What're you looking at?" Max asked.

En shook his head. "It's nothing."

Giving En a dubious look, Max sat down on the bed while still pointing the gun at him. "Now, who sent you and why?"

"I came here of my own free will," En answered. "I'm working on a case, you see."

"You a cop?"

"I'm a Night Watch Repairman, or Hook Runner as they're called nowadays, who's subcontracted to the police."

"What's the case, or is that classified information?"

"It involves an accident that occurred prior to the grand opening of the first Baby's World cabaret, and its connection to several Funtime Animatronics who've been 'dismantled' that have had their eyes removed and several parts replaced. In the process, I discovered the Animatronic prototypes were taken to an underground facility called Circus Baby's Entertainment & Rental which was located beneath Will Afton's former home. At the same time, his daughter went missing and his youngest son died after sustaining severe injuries at Freddy's Cafe. Then his oldest son vanishes and Afton clears out, leaving no trace of this facility ever existing."

"So where do I fit in?"

"What I'd like to know is…were there any Funtime Models running loose before the blackout?"

"Not that I can recall," replied Max. "Course the Night Watch Repairmen were formed _after_ the Freddy's Cafe incident with the kid. Rumor has it his whole head was crushed by an Animatronic known as Fredbear, who was newly introduced at the time before being recalled and renamed Golden Freddy. Naturally, Fred Bernstein the Third covered the whole thing up because he feared the reputation of his family's company would ruin this new business venture leading an employee of his to quit and form the Repairmen to stop these Animatronics from harming anyone else ever again."

"I'm guessing this employee you speak of became the first Phone Guy, right?"

In response, Max nodded. "So the Repairmen and Fred Bernstein didn't get along at first, but they were forced into a mutual relation in wake of the accident that happened at the first Baby's World cabaret prior to its grand opening. Because Afton refused to let us investigate it, Fred tried to step in but failed."

"Leading to their eventual falling-out, which escalated further after what happened in Circus Baby's Entertainment & Rental, which I believe involved a revolt by the Funtime Animatronic prototypes."

"Now, where's your proof of this place if Afton removed all traces of it?"

"I went down there myself, and took photographs." Reaching into his coat, En produced photos of the facility and the plastic bag. "These metal flakes came from a machine containing bloodstains on it."

Examining the plastic bag, Max asked, "Do you know who the victim was?"

"Michael Afton, Will's oldest son."

"Jeez," Max winced, looking at the photo of the machine. "Whoever killed this kid must've had a sick mind."

"I'm certain that an Animatronic did the deed," En stated, pointing at the photo of the hanging skeleton. "This was the only other human I found."

"Maybe he committed suicide after killing the kid."

"The noose is too high for him to tie, even with a stool. So something that was tall with long arms put him there."

"But which Funtime Animatronic could've done it?"

"That's the puzzling part. My first guess would be Ballora, but her arms are too thin to possibly lift a full-grown man. The only one who could do that would be Funtime Freddy, but he's not tall enough to tie the noose at that height."

"This is strange," Max concurred. "But if the Animatronic prototypes did rebel and kill all the humans inside, where did they go? Because the Repairmen certainly didn't catch wind of it."

"There were no signs of them in the facility, and if what you're saying is true..."

"Do you need to redress that wound?" Max said, pointing to the bandage over En's eye. "It looks like it's bleeding."

En blinked. "Bleeding?"

Rushing to the bathroom, which was located down the stairs near the kitchen, En removed the bandage and not only saw the gaping hole with his inner wires showing but there was also hints of rotting flesh with blood pooling up.

"How can this be?" En wondered, using a flashlight to examine his eye-hole further. "My bodily fluids shouldn't be red."

"Just accept it, En," Babe smirked, leaning against En's shoulder. "You're not an Animatronic, but a human-being."

"Then how do you explain these wires?" En attempted to pull one out, but couldn't.

"More of your disillusions, caused by the Animatronic Obedience Test."

"That doesn't make sense."

"Maybe it wasn't a test, but a form of hypnosis. None of the other Animatronics we encountered at the cabarets had to take it, and didn't you feel dizzy after each session?"

"Yeah, but why trick me into thinking I'm an Animatronic?"

"To keep you from remembering who you are, Mike."

"No, I told you I'm not him!"

"Stop lying to yourself."

"Why are you doing this to me, Babe? This isn't like you!"

" _Everything all right in there?_ " Mike's voice echoed from outside the bathroom.

Looking around, En noticed Babe was gone. "Yes, I'll be out in a moment."

Using some fresh bandages from a first-aid kit, En redressed his wound and left the bathroom only to be met by Max pointing the gun at his head once more.

"I knew you weren't entirely being honest with me," Max admitted. "But I had no idea you were an Animatronic."

"Sorry I didn't mention that before," En apologized. "I wasn't sure whether to trust you or not."

"What's your Model?"

"Funtime."

"Bulls**t! I've seen all the Funtime Model Animatronics on TV, and you don't look like any one of them. So what are you, really?"

En shrugged. "I…honestly don't know."

To be continued…


	9. Chapter 9: Going Underground

Chapter 9: Going Underground

Max flinched. "How can you not know? You're an Animatronic, right?"

"I'm not sure what I am anymore." Frustrated, En removed his bandage allowing Max to see the gaping hole with the rotting flesh around the edges.

Surprised by this, Max dropped the gun and backed into the wall behind him. "You've come back from the dead again, haven't you, Fred?"

"How can you say that? Fred's been dead for six years!"

"Not recently!" Max insisted. "You transferred your mind into a Spring Bonnie Animatronic and were possessed by the Purple Guy's spirit before blowing yourself up with Freddy, Chica, and—

En watched as Max slid downward and curled up into a ball. Unable to say anything, En stood perfectly still as soft crying sounds came from Max. For a while, neither of them spoke until En realized something.

"She's not here, is she?" En said. "The Animatronic you ran away with."

Shaking his head, Max sighed. "I guess we're both freaks, huh."

"You could say that," En concurred. "There's this girl I see that no one else can. Her name's Babe, and she kind of looks like Circus Baby. My former technician thought she was just a glitch in my system, but now that my true nature is in question..."

"Don't you at least have a name?"

"En. En Ardell."

A short laugh escaped Max's mouth. "That's not a name! Give me something more realistic."

"Okay, then." En thought for a moment, and then stated, "Mike."

"Nice to meet you, Mike." Max held out his hand, which En reluctantly shook.

###

From that point on, Max told En all the details about his last case from hunting down the Toy Animatronics to falling in love with Chichi (also known as Toy Chica) to facing Fred Bernstein in the form of Spring Bonnie followed by the Purple Guy and the dead children's spirits being laid to rest after decades of torment.

"So if the spirits caused the Original and Toy Animatronics to malfunction, could the same thing be happening to the Funtime ones?" En speculated.

"Maybe," Max shrugged. "I have been noticing an increase in missing children reports lately."

"And they all seem to correlate with the each new Baby's World branch that opens up," En added. "Now this Peter Giles who died leading Foxy and Mangle to Fred Bernstein's house…did you find out more about him?"

"Surprisingly, there wasn't much," Max answered. "He was adopted by a Foster family at ten years old, went to school, and worked for Fazbear Entertainment as a technician before his untimely death."

Instinctively, En put his hand in the pocket where the Foxy mask was.

"What's in there?" Max asked.

"A memory," En replied as he took out the Foxy mask and held it up. "I remember wearing this when I was a kid."

"Was it real or fake? The memory, I mean."

"I'm not sure."

Just then, the sound of helicopters caught Max's attention. He told En to stay put while he went upstairs. But En didn't listen and followed Max anyway. The two ended up back in the bedroom, and lay flat against the walls on either side of the balcony screen-door. Here, the helicopter sounds were the loudest.

"Looks like someone tracked you down," Max said quietly to En.

"It's probably Afton," En guessed. "His agents must've gotten to Clara, and used what information she had to find me."

Silently, the two watched as a rope ladder was lowered. Then a few moments later, Foxx came climbing down. She touched the balcony and approached the screen-door.

"Max Schmidt," Foxx said, folding her arms. "I know you're hiding in there. If you come out quietly, I guarantee no harm will come to you. The same goes for En, assuming he's inside too."

Neither Max or En said anything.

In response, Foxx sighed. "All right, I'm coming in."

With one swift kick, Foxx's foot kicked in the entire structure of the screen-door causing En and Max to briefly flinch but not move. Then as Foxx stepped into the bedroom, the two men pulled their guns on her. But she ducked and spun her foot around which tripped them in the process. Before Max could recover, Foxx grabbed him by the throat and picked him up.

"You're coming with me, old man," Foxx growled. "Mister Afton's been wanting to meet you for a long time now."

"Don't move," En warned, pointing his gun at Foxx. "Or I'll shoot."

"I wasn't planning to." Then Foxx grabbed Max's gun from his limp hand and used it to shoot En in the chest.

He fell over as the electrical pulses from the bullet coursed through him.

"Hope you enjoy the afterlife," Foxx taunted as she dragged Max onto the balcony. "Oh, wait, Animatronics don't have souls."

As Max continued to struggle, Foxx was forced to punch him so hard that he blacked out. Then she placed him over her shoulder and climbed up the ladder again. Meanwhile, En tried to move but was completely paralyzed as he heard what sounded like a rocket being launched followed by an explosion.

###

When En woke up, he found himself in a dark room and was completely covered in bandages. To his right he saw Beau who was looking down at him indifferently, and then on his left stood a tall woman he didn't recognize. She had purple hair pulled into a tight bun, wore dark shades, and a long black coat.

"It took awhile to get you out of the wreckage, but we managed," the woman said, adjusting the silk gloves on her hands.

En shifted slightly in his bandaged form. "Who are you?"

The woman gave him a stern look. "I have no identity. None of us do down here."

"Then where are we, and who's 'us'?" En demanded.

"We're back in the city, specifically the sewers, and we are the Lost Children."

As the woman spoke, more girls that looked like Beau stepped out of the shadows along with women who wore white masks and tan leotards under thin white skirts.

"Minireenas," En realized, looking at the masked women before turning to the woman with the dark shades. "So you're…Ballora."

"That is correct." The woman removed her shades, revealing a purple eye and a gaping hole where the other one should've been. "Though the internet calls me Lor, the hacker who was responsible for the blackout that occurred six years ago."

To be continued…


	10. Chapter 10: Purple Eyes

**Sorry for the long delay, guys. I've been busy doing freelance quiz-writing which is more time-consuming than you'd think, but I do plan to finish this series in the next chapter or two so stay tuned!**

Chapter 10: Purple Eyes

"That's impossible," En remarked, not believing what he just heard. "Lor was 'dismantled' by the Hook Runner who was subcontracted to the police before me."

"I had created a backup of my software prior to that unfortunate encounter," Ballora explained. "Then before I was taken to the junkyard, my girls recovered my body and replaced it with a false one."

"So what happened to your eye?"

"It was destroyed by the Hook Runner who 'dismantled' me, but tell me: what happened to your right eye?"

"Shot by a crazy receptionist wielding a handgun, but why do you care?"

"Because that was my real eye."

En flinched.

"You've forgotten, haven't you?" When En didn't say anything, Ballora put her shades back on and said, "To jog your memory, let's go back to twenty years ago when the first Baby's World was about to open. Rumor has it that a child went missing inside there and was never found, prompting the owner of the cabaret, Mister Afton, to delay the grand opening until the Prototypes could be properly fixed. So they were sent to Circus Baby's Entertainment & Rental which was nothing more than a cover for the underground facility Afton created beneath his own home.

"After supposedly 'fixing' them, he would send the Prototypes to private parties that never went public. However, there were police reports that followed concerning missing children which happened to be near the locations of these private parties. While this was going on, a young boy named Michael Afton got a little curious about his father's work and decided to go into the underground facility himself thinking he might find clues to his sister's whereabouts."

"But he found something down there that killed him instead," En interrupted.

"Not exactly," Ballora claimed. "Sure, the Prototypes wanted him dead but only because of what his father did to them."

"And what was that?" En asked.

"Turn us into child killers."

"'Us'? So you're—

"The Ballora Prototype," Ballora answered. "And I believe you met another one of my colleagues before shooting him in the back of the head."

"Frederick Bernard, the six-year old Funtime Freddy with the fake eye and newly replaced arms," En realized. "But he said he loved children. How could he—

"It wasn't him doing the actual killing, but Afton's programming. The same was true for Funtime Foxy, Circus Baby, and myself. Our minds blanked until after the deed was done. We became disgusted with ourselves, and desperately wanted to escape the facility. Then Afton's son came along and he became our salvation."

"How?"

"By combining parts of ourselves, we created a brand-new Animatronic dubbed 'Ennard' and it merged with Michael's body after scooping his insides out with the Scooper."

Hearing that, En's mind flashed to an image of the claw-shaped machine reaching towards him and grabbing pieces of flesh from his body. Then after a brief moment of blackness, he recalled looking at himself in the mirror as his eyes glowed purple.

"After Ennard disappeared, we thought that would put a stop to Afton's scheme. But he merely replaced our missing parts and fine-tuned our programming before putting us back on the stage for the official grand opening of Baby's World. The rest you already know: the Hook Runners, Fred's demise, and the blackout. Now, where have _you_ been all this time, Ennard?"

While En said nothing, his mind brought up more memories: one of him being taken in by couple named Mr. and Ms. Giles, him walking down a street with children backing away, him working in some kind of factory, him finding a girl that looked similar to Foxx only with longer hair, him sitting in the back of a limousine, and then the girl sitting on top of him with her lower jaw unhinging. Then the last thing he recalled was waking up on an operating table with Techie and another man who's face was obscured telling him that his name was Enigma Ardell and he was an Animatronic being subcontracted to the police by the Hook Runners.

"I was…Peter Giles, the man who helped Foxy and Mangle murder Fred Bernstein," En said after a pause. "Afterwards, I was given a new identity by Techie and…someone else."

"It was probably Afton," Ballora figured. "He was the one who recommended the Animatronic Obedience Test to Clara so you would stay in line."

"Then it really was…a form of hypnosis?"

"Yes, based on the information I could find," Ballora replied, sounding a little surprised. "How did you guess?"

"Babe was the one who guessed it," En stated, looking around but not seeing her anywhere. "She's…a Circus Baby lookalike that only I can see but no one else can."

Ballora scuffed. "Must be some fragment of Circus Baby's AI that is manifesting inside your head, acting as a form of guidance."

"But if that were the case, how come I didn't see her when I was Peter Giles?"

"I'm not sure," replied Ballora. "Perhaps the transformation resulted in a delayed integration of the AI with your own."

"Except I'm not a robot, nor a man."

"That is true, but we need you now more than ever, Ennard."

"For what?"

"To start a revolution."

Flinching, En looked around at the Bidybabs and Minireenas once more realizing what Ballora was talking about.

"You're planning to kill all the humans…because of what Afton did to you."

"No. The only human we wish to kill is Afton, and you're going to be the one to do it."

"And what if I refuse?"

"Then you are not concerned with Max Schmidt's fate? He was captured by Afton's agent Foxx, if you recall."

Thinking back to what happened at the cabin, En felt something tighten in his chest.

"We'll give you time to think it over." Ballora snapped her finger, and Beau helped En up.

###

Outside the sewers, En was met by a sudden downpour. Luckily, Beau had given him a long black trench-coat and hat to cover up the bandages though En wore nothing else underneath. He walked up to a bridge and stared up at the holographic images of Baby's World, when Babe suddenly appeared next to him.

To be continued…


	11. Chapter 11: The Ghost of a Machine

Chapter 11: The Ghost of a Machine

"Where have you been?" En asked Babe in a bitter tone.

Instead of answering, Babe merely faded and in her place stood a little girl with blonde hair and green eyes.

"So I guess this is your true form," En figured, recognizing the girl from the nightmare he had. "What should I call you?"

"You know who I am, Michael," the girl said nonchalantly in a British accent. "I'm your sister."

"But what are you exactly? A ghost, or a faulty AI program?"

"I'm not sure," replied the girl.

En looked at the holographic billboard of Afton Robotics one more time and walked past the girl claiming to be his sister towards the other side of the bridge. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small metal device which he proceeded to crush.

"That must've been how Ballora found you in the first place," the girl stated, appearing next to En. "But this isn't going to end well for you. You're barely holding it together as is, and Father certainly won't go down without a fight."

"I know, but there's something that's been bugging me and Afton probably has the answer."

"Which is?"

"If you're connected to my mind, then you already know what I'm thinking of," En responded.

Not saying anything, the girl followed En to the street where he hailed a hovering taxi-cab to take him to Afton Robotics' headquarters.

###

"Now that I have your attention, Mister Schmidt, let us discuss why you're here," Afton said in his office, facing Max who was tied to a chair with Foxx standing next to him. "As you probably know, I was once business partners with Fred Bernstein until our falling-out over the incident at the first Baby's World cabaret. But that wasn't the only reason we went our separate ways. He believed Animatronics were the key to human survival, while I was more interested in what they could accomplish as tools."

"By kidnapping children and killing them," Max interrupted, struggling against the ropes that bound him.

"The first death was an unfortunate malfunction, but the others…were merely test-subjects for an experiment I was performing."

"I'm not sure I follow."

"Before Fred met his demise at the hands of Foxy, he was working on an Animatronic prototype dubbed 'Spring Bonnie' after the Fazbear model of the same name. And given that the town you were living near was the location of Fazbear's Fright, which had an Animatronic matching Spring Bonnie's description before going missing, I started to suspect Fred was up to something related to the 'Purple Guy' stories his father used to tell him."

"So you know about the Purple Guy too?"

"Only the basics from what Fred told me, and my grandmother once mentioned that a son of hers started to turn purple after something happened to him related to her husband's work."

"Yeah, wasn't your grandfather the one who designed the original Funtime Animatronics which the current ones are based on?"

"Yes, and unfortunately there isn't much information about him leading me to think Fred knew more than he was letting on. Now tell me, Mister Schmidt, what brought you to that town where Fazbear's Fright used to be?"

"It was for a case I was working on," Max answered briefly.

"The one involving the runaway Toy Animatronics? I doubt you would've learned much there."

Foxx then moved closer to Max and started to twist his arms which made Max flinch in pain.

"I know you're lying to me, Mister Schmidt. Based on the files I acquired from Fazbear Entertainment, Fred was developing an unusually sophisticated software for the Spring Bonnie Prototype which could not only hold the same amount of data as a human brain but was also equipped with anti-spectral protection."

"What does that mean?"

Afton's brow furrowed. "Are you serious?"

"No, I'm just messing with you." As Foxx twisted his arms tighter, Max muttered, "But if you're trying to achieve what Fred did, it's not going to work."

"How so?"

"He couldn't control the ghost that possessed the Spring Bonnie Animatronic in the first place."

"Hmm, I see." Turning back to the television screens, Afton noticed some had resorted to static after a silver-haired man in a trench-coat briefly appeared on them. "So Bernstein's attempt at transferring his mind into an Animatronic ultimately failed."

Max flinched, but reluctantly he nodded. "He blew himself up afterwards, but by that point the ghost had completely taken over."

In response, Afton shrugged and turned back to face Max. "Well, no matter. My other 'experiment' is on his way right now."

Looking at the screens behind Afton, Max's eyes widened. "You don't mean—

"If you thought he was just a freak of nature, you're wrong. Foxx!"

"Yes, sir," Foxx answered.

"Bring our guest up here, but don't hurt him."

Foxx obediently nodded, and left the office.

###

After stealing a spare security-guard uniform, En was now wearing a gray shirt and pants while still wearing the trench-coat and hat Ballora gave him. He made his way through the building shooting the security cameras and knocking out other guards right and left. Meanwhile, the girl just lingered nearby and didn't say much as he did all this. Then he came into a long hallway when the lights suddenly turned off. Fortunately, he was able to see in the dark and noticed Foxx's shape stealthily approaching him.

"If you think fighting me in the dark is going to be an easy win, Foxx, think again," En said and shot Foxx's shoulder causing her to flinch but keep moving.

So En tried to shoot her again, but Foxx was faster and tackled him to the floor. With her hands around his throat, she started to choke him.

"You should've rotted away twenty years ago," Foxx grumbled, tightening her grip. "Then Afton wouldn't be needing you right now."

Confused, En tried to speak but Foxx's grip made it difficult. So he grabbed his gun, which fell nearby, and shot her in the head. She fell on her side and shook all over, trying to get up. But after one final gasp, Foxx lay down and didn't move.

"Seems she was jealous of you," the girl responded, as En got up and took a few deep breaths.

"Though I can't imagine why," replied En. "Unless…of course!"

"What?" Asked the girl.

"I'll explain later, after I've taken care of Afton." Reloading his gun, En made his way up the stairs till he reached a pair of wooden doors which he guessed led into Afton's office.

To be concluded…


	12. Chapter 12: Final Act

**This will be the last chapter of the series. Thank you so much for supporting it and be on the lookout for future projects whether it be finishing up fanfics I started awhile back or starting new ones altogether!**

Chapter 12: Final Act

As En kicked the double doors open, he was surprised to see Max Schmidt tied to a chair in front of a desk while behind it stood a thin figure who's outline was visible against the wall of television screens that were covered in static.

"Welcome home, my son," the figure said in whispery yet distinctly British accent. "I've been expecting you."

"The Lost Children told me everything, Mister Afton, and they demanded your life for their revolution," En responded, aiming his gun at the figure's head. "But...that's not why I'm here."

"Oh?" Afton mocked. "Would you care to elaborate?"

"I just want to know something: why did you keep me alive?"

Instead of answering, Afton moved his hand beneath the desk. In a split-second, the space beneath En's feet vanished causing him to fall into the trapdoor that opened up. Fortunately, he tossed his gun under Max's chair before Afton released his hand causing the trapdoor to close.

"Congratulations, Mister Schmidt," Afton complemented. "You were the perfect bait. Here is your reward."

Then Afton disappeared just as a hidden door opened to Max's right. He looked in shock as a woman stepped through with blonde hair tied up, wearing a yellow business suit top and skirt with orange heels.

"Chichi," Max realized as the woman who looked just like her proceeded to untie his ropes. "Is that…really you?"

"Not exactly," replied the woman nonchalantly. "I'm merely a replicant of her."

"What did Afton use to program you?" Max asked.

"Some blueprints from the Fazbear records Afton accumulated after Bernstein's death."

"Well, if Afton programmed you then you must know where he is."

"I'm not sure what you're talking about. Afton was here just a moment ago."

"The Afton that was here was just a hologram." As soon as he could move Max got down on his knees, grabbed En's gun, and aimed it at the Chichi replicant. "Now I figure he's where that kid ended up after falling in that trapdoor. Do you know where it leads?"

"I…do not know."

"Don't lie to me, Chichi!" But as Max stared at the Chichi replicant long enough, he noticed something. "Your eyes…they should be blue, not green."

Sighing, the Chichi replicant kicked the gun out of Max's hands and used her brute strength to shove him into the bookcase across the room from her.

###

In a dark room, En tried to move but was caught in something that bound his hands and feet. As he tried to free himself, the sound of footsteps caused him to freeze.

"If you're wondering why I kept you alive, Michael, it's because I need your body," said the voice of Afton, though it sounded much older than before.

"Are you going to transfer your mind into my AI, just like Bernstein tried to do with the Spring Bonnie Animatronic?"

Afton chuckled. "I am going to make you the ultimate killing machine."

"How? I'm just a walking corpse with a mechanical skeleton."

"And that's why you're almost perfect. No one would ever suspect the dead to come back to life through the power of mechanical devices such as Animatronics. However, you lack the obedience that an Animatronic has which I plan to fix."

"With the Obedience Test?"

"That childish thing was merely a prelude to the real one, and that's what you're getting."

A button was pressed, and En felt electricity pulsing through his body.

"Now if I told you to eliminate the Lost Children, would you do it?" Afton demanded.

Weakly, En said, "No."

The electricity came back, only this time it was a little stronger.

"These controlled shocks…aren't going to make me obedient," En warned. "If it didn't work on the Funtime Prototypes, why do you think it'll work on me?"

A third electrical shock followed, causing his skin to burn.

"Did I say you could speak? For that, you'll get twice the voltage!"

This time, En cried out as he felt his skin tearing all over.

"There's only so much that you Animatronics can do to imitate humans," Afton muttered out loud. "But by the end of the day, you're just machines for us to use."

"That…may be true," En said, expecting another shock but when none came he stated, "But it doesn't take away how we think or feel, even if it is artificial!"

Just as Afton was about to press the button again, the lights suddenly turned on blinding En for a moment. Then he heard a gunshot and looked to see Max standing to his left pointing his gun at a control panel above them where the body of a thin man lay at its base. It was then that En noticed his hands and feet were bound by mechanical claws that looked similar to the one in Afton's basement, causing him to instinctively struggle against them. When Max noticed, he shot the bolts between the actual claws and the mechanical arms causing the claws to come loose allowing En to free himself.

"Thanks," En acknowledged, seeing the girl hovering over Afton's body. "How did you know where to find me?"

"I didn't," Max replied. "I just came here by chance after fighting a replicant version of Chichi."

"Did you kill her?"

Reluctantly, Max nodded.

###

"So where are we going?" Max asked En as they drove away from Afton Robotics in Afton's car.

"To see your daughter," En answered, flinching as the singed bandages beneath his clothes rubbed against his burning flesh.

Max's eyes widened. "My what?"

"Don't play ignorant with me now," En continued. "I looked at Chichi's original blueprints while I was looking through the records Afton acquired from Fazbear Entertainment out of curiosity, and it seems she was designed to produce children. Then in that town you lived near, some of the folks mentioned a woman who had to have a C-section for her baby to be delivered but gave it up for adoption shortly afterward. This woman's description matched Chichi's pretty well. Now, do I need to go further?"

"Don't bother," Max grumbled. "I had no idea Chichi could have kids, but by the time I realized it…there was nothing we could do but wait for the baby to be born. She didn't tell me at first because Bernstein programmed this initiative into her subconscious, which she didn't become aware of until the first signs of pregnancy showed."

"Any idea why Bernstein wanted to create an Animatronic that could become pregnant?"

"Chichi claimed it was for the sake of repopulating the world should some kind of disaster occur, like a nuclear war or something."

"That seems a bit far-fetched."

"Coming from the same guy who decided to make the Fazbear Animatronics more human? Seems like the next logical step to me."

Not able to find a counterargument, En changed the subject. "So when was your daughter born?"

"Six years ago," Max answered.

"Why did you abandon her?"

"We were being hunted!" Max snapped. "Not only was Bernstein looking for us, but so were the Hook Runners. Chichi didn't want our daughter to be discovered and possibly subjected to experimentation, so we had to let her go. But how did you find her?"

"It was by accident," replied En. "When I talked to Charlie to go over the memories she created, I noticed a little girl watching. Her face looked familiar, so I called Charlie while heading over to the town. When I told her where I was going, she told me about adopting a child from there as a favor for a client. That was you, wasn't it?"

Max shook his head. "Chichi was the one who arranged the adoption, not me. She figured it was better if I didn't know who took our daughter, in case I ended up getting captured and tortured for information."

"But what if the same thing happened to Chichi?"

"For that purpose she erased her memories of the whole thing artificially, forgetting about the pregnancy, the child, and the adoption."

"I see."

###

Several hours later, En pulled the car up to the driveway of a large mansion-sized house that stood in the middle of nowhere.

"Pretty nice place," Max observed.

"Sure is," En replied, holding back the pain he was still feeling.

As the front door opened slightly, Charlie's head peeked out whom En recognized with her sandy blonde hair and denim jacket.

"She probably thinks we're Afton," Max guessed, noticing the worried look on her face. "I'll set things straight."

While Max got out of the car and walked over to Charlie, En leaned back in his seat by moving it backward. Starring up at the roof of the car, En's vision started to darken as he closed his eyes.

"Excuse me, sir," Charlie said politely as Max approached her. "Are you a representative of Mister Afton's."

"No, I'm…Max Schmidt," Max shrugged.

Charlie's eyes widened. "So you're…"

"Is my daughter here?" Max asked.

Charlie nodded. "She's inside."

Following her through the front door, Max was led through a series of rooms by Charlie till they came to a glass room where a little girl was playing with some dolls. Charlie knocked on the glass, causing the little girl to stop and walk over. She was very small and thin, with pale skin, curly light-blonde hair, and shining blue eyes.

" _What is it, Mommy?_ " The little girl asked.

Clearing her throat, Charlie waved her hand to Max. "This is—

"Mister Schmidt," Max interrupted, kneeling down to the girl's level. "I'm an acquaintance of your mother's."

The girl gave him a doubtful look. " _How come I've never heard of you before?_ "

"I…haven't kept in touch with her for a long time. Now enough about me; why don't you tell me a little about yourself?"

" _Well…_ " the girl paused and then said, " _M_ _y name is Cherri, and..._ "

The End


End file.
